Reckless driving by a tanker driver led to the death of a 13-year-old schoolboy in Thane on Tuesday morning. The deceased Vaibhav Ramkrishnan was a student of Saraswati High School (English Medium) at Panch Pakhadi and was a resident of Khopat in Thane.
The incident occurred at around 6.30 am at Panch Pakhadi, when a water tanker owned by Tony Water Suppliers had filled its tank at a borewell opposite Shreeji Arcade, and was heading towards the Panch Pakhadi circle.
The tanker was plying on the left side of the road, when suddenly the driver veered it to the right to take a turn. When he took the sudden turn, the tanker driver failed to notice an autorickshaw that was ferrying school children on its right. The impact of the collision caused the autorickshaw to hurtle, and threw its occupants on the road. Vaibhav, who was one of the seven students in the autorickshaw, was injured in the mishap. He died before he could be rushed to a hospital.
Moreover, pedestrians and locals assaulted the driver, who has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar Pandey (21), and also attacked the owner of the tanker, who had come to the site of the mishap.
The Naupada police has arrested the driver and taken the tanker into custody.
Meanwhile, the incident has highlighted the dangerous conditions in which school children are ferried in overcrowded autorickshaws. At the time of the accident, there were seven children in the autorickshaw that was meant for three adult passengers.
Moreover, there are also unconfirmed reports that Vaibhav was sitting in the front, sharing the small seat with the autorickshaw driver.